3. Documents showing any advice and any directive(s), policies or instructional documents
that have been provided for or communicated to Officers considering approvals or refusals of
Applications for Approved Destination Status (ADS) Stream Applications in relation to Visa
applications from the PRC which give the Officers directions or methodology for approving or
refusing such Applications where the Applications are from offshore individuals but not
Approved Destination Status (ADS) Stream Applications;
4. Templates of emails or of letters or notifications containing Decision Records for approval
or refusal of Approved Destination Status (ADS) Stream Applications in relation to Visa
applications from the PRC.
2
Authority to make decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in respect of requests
to access documents or to amend or annotate records.
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
the terms of your request
the FOI Act
Guidelines published by the Office of the Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)
advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the documents
to which you sought access
4
Documents in scope of request
The documents relevant to Parts 1 and 3 of your request can be accessed through LEGENDcom by
subscription. LEGENDcom is an electronic database of all migration and citizenship legislation and
policy documents. These are available to the public on a subscription basis,
at: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/helpsupport/tools/legendcom.
LEGENDcom is also available to the public for free. You can access Australian Government
publications through the Australian Government's Transparency Portal and the National Library of
Australia's catalogue or trove.
The following web links have been provided by the relevant business area in relation to your request:
Part 1 - https://legend.border.gov.au/migration/2021-2024/2025/19-09-
2025/policy/Pages/ document00003/level%20100191.aspx
Part 3 - https://legend.border.gov.au/migration/2021-2024/2025/19-09-
2025/policy/Pages/ document00003/level%20100191.aspx
The Department has undertaken reasonable searches for documents within Parts 2 and 4 of your
request. The relevant business area Temporary Visa & Capability has confirmed that there are no
specific decision records regarding approvals or refusals for Visitor Visa Subclass 600 or Approved
Destination Status (ADS) Stream applications related to visa applications from the People's Republic
of China (PRC).
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Having regard to your request and the types of documents that may fall within the scope of your
request I am satisfied that the searches conducted were extremely thorough and all reasonable
steps have been taken to locate any document relevant to your request.
5 Decision
Refuse access to documents in relation to Parts 1 and 4 of your request as they are publicly
available at LEGENDcom
Refuse access to documents in relation to Parts 2 and 4 of your request on the basis that
no documents exist
6
Reasons for decision
6.1 Section 12 of the FOI Act – document open to public access
Section 12(1)(b) of the FOI Act provides that a person is not entitled to access a document that is
open to public access, as part of a public register or otherwise, in accordance with another
enactment, where that access is subject to a fee or other charge.
As documents you have requested access to are available on LEGENDcom, I consider that you are
not entitled to access the documents under the FOI Act.
6.2 Section 24 of the FOI Act – documents do not exist
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that the Department may refuse a request for access to
documents if all reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents and the Department is
satisfied that the documents do not exist.
I am satisfied that the Department has undertaken reasonable searches in relation to Parts 2 and 4
of your request and that no documents were in the possession of the Department, on 28 November
2025, when your FOI request was received. As such, I am refusing these parts of your request based
on the application of section 24A of the FOI Act.
7 Legislation
A copy of the FOI Act is available at https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02562. If you are
unable to access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for a copy.
8
Your review rights
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for either an internal review or an
Information Commissioner review of the decision.
Internal review
If you want the Department to review this decision, you must make your internal review request
within 30 days of being notified of this decision.
When making your internal review request, please provide the Department with the reasons why you
consider this decision should be changed.
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You can send your internal review request to:
Email: xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
The internal review will be carried out by an officer who is more senior than the original decision
maker. The Department must make its decision on the review within 30 days of receiving your
request for internal review.
Information Commissioner review
If you want the Australian Information Commissioner to review this decision, you must make your
request to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) within 60 days of being
notified of this decision.
You can apply for an Information Commissioner review using the Information Commissioner review
application form on the OAIC website.
You can find more information about Information Commissioner reviews on the OAIC website.
9
Making a complaint
You may make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. This is a separate process to the
process of requesting a review of the decision as indicated above.
You can make an FOI complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
at: FOI Complaint Form on the OAIC website.
10
Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Section at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Electronically signed Lucksika Position number 60016902
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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